Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Global Positioning System

lord birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 13 December (HL11924), what is their assessment of the effectiveness of the enforcement of the prohibition on the sale of devices which interfere with the legitimate use of spectrum, in the light of the ongoing advertisement of GPS jammers on eBay.

lord ashton of hyde: The Government has not made such an assessment. Enforcement is a matter for Ofcom, as the independent regulator.

Department for International Development

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UN OCHA report Gaza Strip: early warning indicators—November 2018about the potential for a humanitarian crisis in Gaza; and what steps they will take in response to the report.

lord bates: The UK remains deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza. The most recent UN OCHA report shows that whilst electricity supply has markedly increased, emergency fuel supplies for health, water and sanitation, and solid waste collection facilities remain critically low. Essential healthcare services remain stretched, and access to safe water and sufficient food continue to be daily challenges for many people in Gaza.The UK is supporting hospitals and patients in Gaza through the International Committee of the Red Cross and addressing critical water and sanitation needs for 2 million people through UNICEF. This is in addition to our longstanding support to UNRWA. On 17 December 2018, the UK announced a further £5 million of emergency funding to UNRWA to provide food to 62,000 vulnerable refugees.

Developing Countries: Education

lord watts: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of Girls' Education Challenge programmes specifically target displaced populations.

lord bates: Of the 27 Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) projects currently implementing, two are specifically targeting displaced populations, representing 7% of the overall portfolio. A further 14 projects are in the inception stage, and of these five are planning to specifically target displaced populations. This will bring the overall percentage of GEC projects specifically targeting displaced populations to 17%.

Developing Countries: Education

lord watts: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much UK overseas development aid was allocated to (1) primary education, (2) secondary education, and (3) education programmes for displaced children in each year since 2010.

lord bates: Set out below is the bilateral aid spent on 1) basic education (accounting for primary and basic adult education) and 2) secondary education for each financial year from 2010. For aid allocated to education for displaced children please refer to the answer to HL12391.Thousands £  20102011201220132014201520162017Basic education173,479261,829241,848226,418197,898211,520449,092368,224Secondary education33,95936,63234,740138,665183,64754,789100,982108,342

Developing Countries: Education

lord watts: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for International Development on 31 October (109226), whether any progress has been made by the OECD Development Assistance Committee to agree a specific Education in Emergencies code.

lord bates: UK humanitarian aid is classified using standards defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) so they can be comparable across the international donor community. While the proposal to update the humanitarian codes was approved by all DAC members in April 2018, the specific “Education in Emergencies” code was not approved at this stage. The DAC may consider revisiting the introduction of this code in the future.

Afghanistan: Internally Displaced People

the earl of sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are assisting the government of Afghanistan and UN agencies to register returnees from Pakistan who remain internally displaced, but receive no benefits or transport to places of registration.

lord bates: We are extremely concerned about the situation for returning refugees, undocumented Afghans and internally displaced people in Afghanistan. Our assistance is based on need and supports the United Nations-led Humanitarian Response Plan in Afghanistan. In 2016 and 2017 the UK provided urgent additional funding to UNHCR to ensure refugees were provided with immediate assistance upon return, including to cover immediate food, shelter and transport costs. In 2018 there have been fewer returns from Pakistan compared to previous years, so the focus of our assistance has changed. In 2018 UK aid will provide humanitarian assistance for up to two million Afghan people. This includes lifesaving food, access to water, shelter, nutrition, healthcare and demining activities. It will also support people who have been displaced for a long time to integrate sustainably into local communities. As recently announced at the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan, we have increased our funding for the humanitarian response to £67 million this year. We continue to press others to do more.

Department for Education

Skilled Workers

lord goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the results of the latest UK employer skills survey will be published.

lord agnew of oulton: The latest UK Employer Skills Survey was conducted in 2017 and the results were published in August 2018. The main report is included as an attachment to this response. Further findings and information can be found on the Employer Skills Survey page of GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-employer-skills-survey-2017.



UK_Employer_Skills Survey_2017_HL12401_attachment
(PDF Document, 6.17 MB)

Apprentices: Arts

lord goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they have taken to ensure that the apprenticeship scheme is suitable for the creative industries; and what has been the outcome of those steps.

lord agnew of oulton: Our apprenticeship reforms are placing employers at the heart of ensuring that they have the right skills in their workforce to grow their business and to increase their productivity. However, we do recognise that some sectors and employers, including in the creative industries, experience challenges in taking advantage of the apprenticeship reforms.Improving quality is a fundamental part of our reforms to apprenticeships. We are making sure that apprenticeships are high quality, industry recognised and delivered by quality providers. Apprenticeship standards are being developed by employers themselves to ensure their relevance. Over 70 employers are involved in developing new apprenticeship standards in the creative and digital industries sectors. There are 32 creative and design and digital industries standards currently available, with 38 more in development.As part of the Creative Industries Sector Deal, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is supporting the creative careers strategy by working with the Institute for Apprenticeships on the development of apprenticeship standards, classifying areas where there are skills gaps identified as Industrial Strategy priorities.We have introduced the apprenticeship levy to encourage sustained employer investment in high quality apprenticeships and are carefully monitoring the impact of the levy in different sectors. We are also working with ScreenSkills to discuss options for how best the sector can benefit from sustainable investment in the apprenticeship training that they need.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the planned new generation of UK nuclear power stations will be the first to become operational; when this will be; and when the remaining planned nuclear power stations are expected to become operational.

lord henley: In September 2016, this Government agreed to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C. The developer is forecasting that Commercial Operations will commence at Hinkley in 2025. Industry has brought forward proposals for a number of other projects and it is for the developers to set out their timescales.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the earliest date by which they estimate the UK could develop its own functioning satellite-navigation system; and whether it is their intention to develop such a system by this date.

lord henley: Based on initial analysis the proposed development of a fully operational UK Global Navigation Satellite System would around 2028-2030. Currently the UK Space Agency, as an Agency of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is conducting an Engineering, Design and Development Phase, which will look into developing options for the proposed system.

Smart Data Review

lord goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government what have been the findings of the Smart Data Review of the efficacy of data portability.

lord henley: The Smart Data Review is ongoing. Its terms of reference were published on 28 September 2018 and can be found online (also attached) at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-data-review/smart-data-review-terms-of-reference We will set out our findings and next steps in due course.



Smart Data Review - Terms of Reference
(PDF Document, 22.5 KB)

Jaguar Land Rover

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Jaguar Land Rover’s turnaround plan on (1) employment, and (2) the UK car industry post-Brexit.

lord henley: Jaguar Land Rover have not yet announced details of their turnaround plan. BEIS Ministers and officials are working closely with Jaguar Land Rover.

Climate Change Convention

lord barker of battle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of the UN Conference of Parties 24.

lord henley: The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Katowice, Poland, from 2-15 December. In the negotiations we succeeded in securing our main objectives by delivering an operational rulebook that would enable the historic Paris Agreement to be effectively implemented. Inevitably there is still work to be done, but the overall picture is of a rulebook that will drive genuine climate action, providing a common set of rules while allowing for flexibility and support for those countries that need it.The UK was a strong voice recognising the seriousness of the latest climate science during COP. We played a central role in the progressive alliance of countries striving for a final outcome that coupled robust rules with a call for more ambitious climate action. We did this through supporting the High Ambition Coalition’s Stepping Up Climate Ambition statement and through regularly convening the Cartagena Dialogue of progressive countries.Outside the negotiations, the UK had a visible presence in Katowice. We celebrated one year of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, 10 years since the passage of the Climate Change Act, and held over 50 events showcasing UK international support, domestic action and low carbon expertise at a UK ‘Green is Great’ Pavilion. We were also pleased to support Poland as COP Presidency with three political initiatives, co-developing their e-mobility declaration and supporting declarations on the importance of a just transition, and forests.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Holiday Accommodation: Waste Disposal

baroness gardner of parkes: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 25 September (HL10355), what assessment they have made of the extent to which local authorities are using their powers under section 45(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to charge those who offer short-term holiday lets for additional waste collection.

baroness gardner of parkes: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 25 September (HL10355), what discussions they have had with local authorities about whether the powers under section 45(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 are appropriate to address problems of additional waste being generated by properties being offered as short-term holiday lets.

lord gardiner of kimble: Waste arising from short-term holiday lets has not been discussed as a specific issue with local authorities regarding their powers under section 45(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. We have not had direct representation from local authorities or any concerns raised by them regarding waste from short-term holiday lets and execution of their power under s45 (4). We consider the powers which allow local authorities to charge for waste collection from commercial properties, including short-term holiday lets, are clear and appropriate for dealing with waste from such businesses.